Sharif to go ahead with rally despite explosion on route
Pakistan’s deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif is determined to hold a rally in his powerbase of Lahore despite a bombing in the city on Monday that killed one person and raised fears for the PML-N chief’s safety.
The explosion in a fruit truck occurred on the route that Sharif is to take on Wednesday for the rally.
Last week, Islamabad Police had cited threats from various militant groups and expressed reservations about the rally that Sharif plans to lead from Islamabad to Lahore.
The media reported explosives were hidden in the truck laden with fruits. Initial reports had said the explosion occurred when the truck hit an electric transformer. The truck was parked at the same spot for the past three days, police said. One person was killed and 35 others were injured by the blast.
Sharif plans to return to his hometown from Islamabad for the first time since the Supreme Court disqualified him on July 28 for being dishonest while declaring his assets – specifically, that his son’s Dubai-based company listed a monthly salary for him. Sharif has repeatedly said he never received any of that money.
Despite the security threat to Sharif’s rally, “there is no change in the plans”, Punjab government spokesman Malik Mohammad Ahmed said.
The former premier was earlier scheduled to travel to Lahore from Islamabad via the famous Grand Trunk Road on Sunday, but the rally was postponed to Wednesday.
The PML-N has planned a “million march” to protest against Sharif’s disqualification in the Panama Papers case.
Opposition leader Imram Khan has expressed concern at Sharif’s plan to travel to Lahore with a cavalcade, describing it as “a deliberate attempt to undermine the Supreme Court” and its judgement in the high-profile scandal.